Random Harvest (1942)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Mervyn LeRoy

Writers:

Claudine West (screenplay) and
George Froeschel (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

14 September 1943 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

It's Great. Great Stars . . . A Great Story . . . A Great Author!

Plot:

An amnesiac World War I vet falls in love with a music hall star, only to suffer an accident which restores his original memories but erases his post-War life.

Plot Keywords:

Music Hall | Asylum | Secretary | Inheritance | Amnesia

Awards:

Nominated for 7 Oscars.

Cast

Ronald Colman	...	Smithy
Greer Garson	...	Paula
Philip Dorn	...	Dr. Jonathan Benet
Susan Peters	...	Kitty
Henry Travers	...	Dr. Sims
Reginald Owen	...	'Biffer'
Bramwell Fletcher	...	Assistant
Rhys Williams	...	Sam
Una O'Connor	...	Tobacconist
Aubrey Mather	...	Sheldon
Margaret Wycherly	...	Mrs. Deventer
Arthur Margetson	...	Chet
Melville Cooper	...	Uncle George
Alan Napier	...	Julian
Jill Esmond	...	Lydia

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (video rating) | Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (PCA #8545)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Ronald Colman fought with the British army in World War 1 at the battle of Ypres in 1914 where he received severe shrapnel wounds to the knee and ankle of one of his legs. He was decorated for bravery and was invalided out of the army several months later.

Goofs:

Continuity: The position of Kitty's legs changes when sharing a smoke with Charles.

Quotes:

Paula: Smithy, do I always have to take the initiative? You're supposed to kiss me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Cagney & Lacey: Happily Ever After (#4.13)" (1985)

One Of The Three Most Emotionally Satisfying Movies Ever Made.

Along with NOW, VOYAGER and CASABLANCA, RANDOM HARVEST is one of the three most emotionally satisfying movies to ever come out of Hollywood's classic period, and a great example of the best that MGM had to offer in the '40s. Beautifully accomplished in every department from writing to art direction to cinematography to scoring, you have only to watch the first scene (so like REBECCA's) to be drawn in by it and then consistently surprised and entertained. And reading the 28 other comments here, I am struck by the unanimity of opinion -- because what makes the contrived plot believable scene by scene, and what causes the picture as a whole to live so warmly in the memory, is the unbeatable work from Ronald Colman and Greer Garson.

More than MRS. MINIVER, this is the archetypal Garson performance: her tact, gentle humor and intelligent restraint are in perfect service to her character and the story. If she seems too starry and aristocratic to be a lowly music hall performer, she is right in every other respect, particularly as an efficient secretary, society hostess and perfect helpmate. And this is Ronald Colman's best work ever. He should have won his Oscar for this lovely, subtle performance rather than for the strained work he did in A DOUBLE LIFE. Full of wistfulness as the amnesiac early in the film, there is real heartbreak in the way he says the line "I would have liked to have belonged to them" about the couple he hopes will turn out to be his parents. But he is just as convincing later as the confident, energetic 'Industrial Prince of England.'

Colman and Garson are the perfect grownup romantic couple: they make intelligence and maturity seem impossibly glamorous, and they embody the idea that friendship, loyalty and mutual respect must be at the center of every enduring love.